Life in the stacks Hawley woman has passion for North Pocono Library

MICHAEL J. MULLEN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Hawley resident Susan Jeffery enjoys the opportunity to indulge her creative side as director of the North Pocono Public Library in Moscow.

Susan Jeffery finds her days are filled with not only variety but also an abundance of happiness.

"There's a lot of joy in seeing people learn new things (and) get what they need," said Mrs. Jeffery, the director of the North Pocono Public Library in Moscow.

It was the chance to indulge her creative nature and "the opportunity to do so many different things" that made becoming a librarian appealing to the married mother of two from Hawley. With a schedule that can range from running programs for toddlers to fundraising to helping people find jobs, Mrs. Jeffery enjoys coming to work every day.

"It's just provided me a range of opportunities to outreach with people of all ages," she said.

Although Mrs. Jeffery always has enjoyed reading - she cites "Frankenstein" as her favorite book - she didn't set out to become a librarian after graduating from Wyoming Area High School. Mrs. Jeffery wanted to pursue a career as a college professor and then work in college administration, and she started by earning a bachelor's degree in English from Bloomsburg University.

In the end, however, she went in a different direction and received a master's degree in library science from University of Pittsburgh. She found she "just kept getting pulled to public libraries" and ended up working as assistant director of Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, N.Y.

New Path

An encounter at her 20th high school class reunion took her down yet another road, one that brought her back to Northeast Pennsylvania. After reconnecting with her high school sweetheart, Tom, the couple married six years ago, and Mrs. Jeffery and her family settled in Hawley.

"We both were really strong in our faith," she said of herself and her husband. "It's that kind of love that's forever love. We came back together. We just knew it was meant to be."

Mrs. Jeffery had been working as head of reference at Scranton's Albright Memorial Library when the director job at North Pocono opened up, and she has been in that position for the last four and a half years. She praised not only her co-workers but also the library's board of directors for their passion and support.

"I have a really wonderful staff, and it's a staff that's just really excellent in customer service and dedicated in providing services," Mrs. Jeffery said. "I said, 'These are people I can work with.'"

It is in her job as director that she has helped make a major contribution to the North Pocono community, leading the charge to plan and raise money for a new library building.

The project hasn't been easy. Not long after the library started planning for the new building, the economy collapsed and "everything kind of fell out from under us," Mrs. Jeffery said. But she remained determined.

"I said, 'We have to build a library. It's much too important,'" she recalled.

Reducing the scope of the project and pursuing fundraising has been challenging, Mrs. Jeffery said, but "the Lord has provided for us every step of the way." While there is still about $1 million to raise, construction is under way on the new 8,400-square-foot building Mrs. Jeffery said the library hopes to open next spring.

Meeting challenge

In a foundering economy in which libraries in particular have faced cutbacks and other hardships, not having enough money for the library has been the most challenging part of Mrs. Jeffery's job. A lot of library directors find going out into the community to seek funding difficult, she said, but she is "not afraid to go outside the library door."

"You can't expect people to support you financially if they don't know why you're important. ... I enjoy being an advocate for libraries as well as (for) the other stuff we do," she said.

And Mrs. Jeffery's reach has extended far beyond the North Pocono community. She helped plan and pursue grants for Scranton Reads during her time at Albright Memorial Library, and she's been known to use her passion for cooking to provide soups and other foods for community fundraisers. She also served as president of Wallenpaupack Area High School's band parent group when her daughters were students there, and she is active in her church.

"My church and my kids in school have always been really important to me," she said.

Her daughters have a passion for service and caring for others, something Mrs. Jeffery thinks they inherited from her. Being a mom is "my favorite thing," she said.

"I really love caring for my girls, and I hope I've prepared them well for life," Mrs. Jeffery said.

Today the world is a difficult place for people to find the "right spot" for them, Mrs. Jeffery said, and she hopes and prays her daughters, both students at West Chester University, are able to do just that one day.

"I hope they are as happy in the work they choose to do as I am in mine," she said.

Contact the writer: cheaney@timesshamrock.com, @FeaturesTT on Twitter

Meet Susan Jeffery

At home: Lives in Hawley with her husband, Tom. She also has two daughters, Emily Frey, 21, and Kelly Frey, 19.

At work: Director of North Pocono Public Library in Moscow

Inspirations: "My faith and prayer (are) what get me through every day."

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13

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